SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) — Vincent G. Dow, vice president and chief engineer of distribution operations at DTE Energy in Detroit, and Cary B. Wood, president, CEO, and director of Sparton Corp., based in Schaumburg, Ill., have been named to the Board of Trustees of Lawrence Technological University.

Dow oversees DTE Energy’s electrical system, including new customer connections, engineering, power plant electrical equipment, and all distribution system construction. He also oversees asset optimization, distribution contract management, performance management, the Smart Grid efforts, and NERC standards and compliance for the diversified energy company, which has operating units that include an electric utility serving 2.1 million customers in southeastern Michigan and a natural gas utility serving 1.2 million customers in Michigan.

Dow holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from LTU and an MBA from Wayne State University. He is active in numerous community and higher education initiatives.

Wood recently led the successful turnaround of Sparton, a 113-year-old provider of complex and sophisticated electromechanical devices serving the medical and biotechnology, industrial and commercial, and military and aerospace industries. The company has design centers and manufacturing facilities worldwide.

Under Wood’s leadership to save Sparton from bankruptcy, serious cost-saving efforts included workforce reductions, closing of facilities, and customer disengagement. He implemented a set of new corporate values and a turnaround strategy that featured instilling an entrepreneurial spirit throughout the company. Over the past several years, financial and operational turnaround efforts were completed. New branding and marketing have been added, research and development efforts were begun for the first time in the company’s history, new products have been launched, and the firm has recently acquired two new companies.

Wood received his undergraduate degree from Purdue University and a Master of Science in industrial operations from Lawrence Technological University. He is a member of the Board of Advisors for LTU’s College of Management.

Trustees at Lawrence Tech establish strategic direction, help formulate and approve major institutional policies, and hire the University’s executive team. They serve without compensation.

“We are delighted to have Mr. Dow and Mr. Wood join our board and for us to have the benefit of their leadership and counsel as we work to advance the programs and services for students at LTU,” said Lloyd E. Reuss, chairman of the university board. “Both represent fields where Lawrence Tech places significant numbers of graduates, so their knowledge of current and emerging industry needs will be especially helpful.”

Lawrence Technological University, http://www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 7 percent of universities for return on undergraduate tuition investment, and highest in the Detroit metropolitan area. Lawrence Tech is also listed in the top tier of Midwestern universities by U.S. News and World Report and the Princeton Review. Activities for Lawrence Tech’s 4,500 students on its 102-acre campus include more than 60 student clubs and organizations and a growing roster of NAIA varsity sports.